Balochistan politics

Some believe that karma has caught up with Bizenjo, who has been involved in Machiavellian maneuvers for a decade

The no-confidence season continues, with legislators in Balochistan emulating their peers in Punjab and Islamabad with an effort to remove their chief minister. Several members of Chief Minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo’s Balochistan Awami Party signed on to the no-confidence motion submitted earlier this week. Among them was ex-CM Jam Kamal — Bizenjo’s predecessor — who was himself facing a no-confidence motion in October 2021 but resigned before it could be brought to a vote. Sacking the CM will require a simple majority in the 65-member assembly — 33 votes. PTI’s Sardar Yar Muhammad Rind, who filed the motion, says their grievances were over Bizenjo’s administration and style of governance rather than any personal issues.

Some circles also believe that karma has finally caught up with Bizenjo, who has been involved in a series of Machiavellian maneuvers for the better part of a decade. In 2013, he was elected to the Balochistan Assembly with only 544 votes — less than 1% of total registered voters in his constituency. This remains the lowest vote total for anyone elected to a legislative chamber in the country’s history. Bizenjo rose to the chief ministership in the previous election cycle after leading a revolt against then-CM Sanaullah Zehri, before forcing out Jam Kamal in similar fashion last year. But more rational minds will point to performance. Rind claims that problems such as corruption and law and order have worsened under Bizenjo, who is making Jam Kamal look “like an angel” in retrospect.

Bizenjo underscores that nobody questioned Jam Kamal’s honesty or integrity, and the only gripe was the slow pace of development work during his time as chief minister. Incidentally, before quitting, Jam Kamal had been holding back development funds for legislators, arguing that the province was in dire financial straits and belt-tightening was necessary. Bizenjo, who was elected unopposed, opened the floodgates immediately after taking office. But, somewhat expectedly, several projects have drawn criticism for mismanagement, favouritism, and alleged corruption.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 20^th, 2022.

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